Sarah Borges is a
rock and roll musician based in the
Boston, Massachusetts, area, formerly signed to
Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label.
It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...
. Her music has been described as "walking that fine line between
punk and
country".
Borges' wide variety of influences are often noted. They range from
Dolly Parton,
Mahalia Jackson, X,
Sid Vicious,
Merle Haggard, to
bubblegum pop
Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...
.
Borges grew up in
Taunton, Massachusetts, a city south of
Boston, in the third generation of a Portuguese (hence the hard "g" in her name) family. She was interested in musical theatre as a youth and majored in the subject while a student at
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
.
Borges was married to Boston-area guitar player Lyle Brewer. Circa 2010-2013, Borges gave birth to a son.
Borges has long called her band The Broken Singles, with the only other constant member being Binky, the bassist and her longtime friend.
Over the years, various different lead guitarists and drummers have performed with the band.
On the strength of a performance at the
South by Southwest Festival in 2004, Borges earned a record deal with
Houston's Blue Corn Records. Her first record, 2005's ''Silver City'' earned praise for showcasing "an unusual knack for mixing alternative rock with country".
Allmusic compared Borges to
Maria McKee of
Lone Justice, and admired how her songs "balance some fierce guitar licks with heartfelt twang".
After much national touring and opening for noted acts such as
Dave Alvin,
Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles
were signed by Sugar Hill Records. The title of her 2007 release ''Diamonds in the Dark '' is a line from the song ''Come Back to Me'', by one of her favorite bands,
X.
The album features a cover of this song, many original works, and
Tom Waits and
Greg Cartwright covers. Allmusic commended the album as "grittily brilliant" with songs that are "brilliantly rollicking".
A third album, ''The Stars Are Out'' was released in March 2009. Borges commented that the album features more of a straightforward rock n roll sound
than her earlier work.
The album features five covers of artists ranging from
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...
to
The Lemonheads. Allmusic describes the album as "material grounded in Americana even as it morphs from folk to rock and even soul" and calls it a "short but sweet collection".
After its release, Borges and the Broken Singles received a nomination for Best Emerging Artist at the Americana Music Association festival in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
.
Borges released ''Radio Sweetheart'' in 2014 on
Lonesome Day Records
Lonesome Day Records is an independent record label founded by Randall Deaton based in Booneville, Kentucky that supports bluegrass and country bands.
History
Founder Randall Deaton started the Lonesome Day label in 2002, and released their first ...
, which was recorded at Napoleon Complex in
Somerville, Massachusetts, and Woolly Mammoth Sound in
Waltham, Massachusetts. Borges released a follow-up EP in 2016, ''Good & Dirty,'' which was produced by
Eric "Roscoe" Ambel.
Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles released ''Love's Middle Name'' in 2018.
They continue to tour into 2021.
[
]
Discography
References
External links
*
Sarah Borges collection
at the Internet Archive's live music archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borges, Sarah
American alternative country singers
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
People from Taunton, Massachusetts
Emerson College alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts
21st-century American women
Country musicians from Massachusetts